[BN] the know

Drs. Oz and Roizen: Is your brain obese?

Need some extra motivation to take off those excess pounds? We’ve got it for you! A new report reveals, for the first time, that there’s a direct link between belly fat and brain drain – and how to stop it.

We know that carrying extra pounds of belly fat raises your odds for dementia by a whopping 80 percent. But now, a well-designed lab study – on mice – has found that deep abdominal fat pours inflammatory chemicals into your bloodstream that then cross the blood/brain barrier, causing dementia.

Until now, we thought the blood/brain barrier protected the brain’s gray cells from this particular form of inflammatory assault. But it turns out that compounds secreted by excess belly fat weaken this barrier, so fat-triggered inflammation oozes into the brain, dumbing down your hippocampus (a relay station for memories), slowing mental processing, hindering recall and allowing dementia to develop.

But there’s a bright side. That’s why the mouse study is really big news. The researchers say that if you put the creatures on a daily exercise program, it reduces inflammation, restores a strong blood/brain barrier and improves mental sharpness.

Why believe a mouse study? Two reasons: 1. In mice and men, the blood/brain barrier acts very similarly; and 2. You can cause mice to pack on belly fat and then observe the effects, but you can’t do that with people.

True, you can’t be certain that things happen exactly the same way in human brains, but the evidence is strong enough for the study’s lead researcher to suggest exactly what we suggest: Get moving – especially if you’re carrying extra weight around your middle! So here are five ways to trim your tummy and have a leaner, more nimble brain:

1.Say “yes” to exercise: A 30-minute daily walk plus 20 to 30 minutes of strength training twice a week is a great start. You want to head for 10,000 total steps, or step equivalents, a day. Activity boosts levels of a brain and spinal cord protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which helps grow new brain cells and healthy new connections between them. Exercise also helps two areas that are important for memory and emotional intelligence – the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex – get bigger and better connected.

2.Say no to palm oils: These tropical plant oils that contain saturated fat have been at the center of debate for several years now, but a new study settles the spat. Lose ’em. They promote body fat in the worst possible spots: your abdomen and your liver.

3. Banish food felons that feed belly fat: Skip added sugars, syrups and refined grains such as white bread and white rice. They’re packed with empty calories that take your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride, fueling cravings. Steer clear of trans fats, partially hydrogenated oils, found in some baked goods and other processed foods. They don’t just send new fat to your belly; they make fat from other places land there, too.

4. Go for 100 percent whole grains and healthful odd omega fats: Getting three servings of whole grains could slash belly fat by 10 percent – but only if you also limit refined grains to one serving or less per day. Using olive oil, munching a few nuts and sliding sliced avocado into your sandwich instead of cheese all help, too. These contain odd omega fatty acids that encourage your body to store fat elsewhere. Nice trick!

5. Plan for the road: Traveling? Just busy? Pack road food. A steady diet of fast food could increase ab fat by up to 41 percent in just one month! Invest in a good cooler and load it with fat-fighting goodies including blueberries, cherries, strawberries and raspberries, caffeinated coffee and green tea. Rich in plant compounds that turn up your body’s antioxidant defenses, these treats help your body burn off ab fat, too.